Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $1.39 Million Position in Vestis Co. (NYSE:VSTS)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Vestis Co. (NYSE:VSTS) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 65,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,385,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Vestis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $484,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Vestis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $89,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Vestis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Americana Partners LLC bought a new stake in Vestis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vestis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $132,000. 97.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on VSTS. Wolfe Research began coverage on Vestis in a report on Thursday, January 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Vestis in a report on Thursday, January 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays cut Vestis from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $19.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vestis currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kim Scott bought 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.14 per share, for a total transaction of $287,100.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,131 shares in the company, valued at $3,505,127.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Vestis Price Performance

Vestis stock opened at $18.66 on Monday. Vestis Co. has a 52-week low of $13.83 and a 52-week high of $22.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $18.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.61.

Vestis (NYSE:VSTS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $717.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $724.72 million. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vestis Co. will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

Vestis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.035 dividend. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th.

Vestis Company Profile

Vestis Corporation provides uniform rentals and workplace supplies in the United States and Canada. Its products include uniform options, such as shirts, pants, outerwear, gowns, scrubs, high visibility garments, particulate-free garments, and flame-resistant garments, as well as shoes and accessories; and workplace supplies, including managed restroom supply services, first-aid supplies and safety products, floor mats, towels, and linens.